RTTE - Sidelined Guys
by Yalleo
Summary: This story is written at the pace of a RTTE episode. To get pieces needed for Hiccup's Dragon Eye, the Riders fly to an unfamiliar island. After splitting up by genders in their search, the four guys invade on a dragon execution, and become imprisoned. It's up to the girls to rescue them, and Hiccup needs Astrid's help more than ever when the leader takes special interest in him.
1. Part 1

_This story is only two 'chapters' long, since it's made to be close to the length of a two part episode from the show. This takes place in the fifth season. Enjoy!_

"You did what?" Ruffnut exclaimed, staring at her brother.

"I sold the useless junk you didn't need, so I could buy us these awesome spears! Here you go!" Tuffnut replied, tossing her the weapon.

"That was my favorite pile of junk, and you got rid of all of it, for just a set of spears?"

"Well yeah, it was just a pile of junk, right?"

"No! There's junk junk, and then there's good junk. And you got rid of my good junk!"

"How was I supposed to know that was your good junk?"

As the twins kept arguing, they failed to notice Fishlegs had come into their hut. "There you guys are! Hiccup's been looking for you! He has an announcement to make to all of us."

"Can't it wait? Someone here needs to admit what he did was stupid!" Ruffnut yelled.

"Oh come on, these spears are worth even your good junk! Seriously!" Tuffnut yelled back.

"You two can settle this later. Hiccup's been waiting, now come on," Fishlegs insisted.

The three made their way to the clubhouse, where Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, and Heather were all waiting for them.

"Thank you for finally joining us," Hiccup said to the twins.

"All right Hiccup, what's the big thing you want to tell us all this time?" Snotlout questioned, not really interested.

"I finally got a Terror Mail back from Gobber. And from what I read in the note, we might finally be able to get the last pieces I need to construct my Dragon Eye," Hiccup explained.

"That's great to hear, Hiccup. Where did he say we'd need to go to get them?" Astrid asked him.

"He noted on this map where to go, a place called Ironside Island. He told me he hasn't been there in years, but he has a pretty firm belief that they would have the gears I need."

"It sounds like a great place to check out!" Fishlegs said with excitement. "I'm sure the island could teach us many things about construction that we don't already know about."

"And I've never even heard about Ironside Island. It could be a good idea to ask around if anybody there might know anything about my missing father," Heather added.

"I'm thinking we should all head there tomorrow. The sooner we can get the pieces for my Dragon Eye, the better," Hiccup decided.

Everyone agreed with him, and continued their day as normal. The following morning, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were still at each other's throats over the issue with the spears. As much as Ruffnut didn't want to, she ended up taking the new spear with her as they prepared for their trip. She figured she could trade it for something else once they made it to the new island. The entire flight there, the twins didn't speak to each other or even glance in each other's directions. Instead, Tuffnut chose to complain to Snotlout about Ruffnut, while Ruffnut chose to complain to Fishlegs about Tuffnut.

"Oh! That must be Ironside Island!" Fishlegs exclaimed, happy to soon have a distraction from Ruffnut's complaining.

"Okay, remember the plan, everyone! Find a dense part of the island to slip onto, so we can hide our dragons in there. We don't want to make a scene and give any wrong ideas about seven vikings flying in on dragons. We'll try to quickly look for the parts I need, walking without the dragons," Hiccup instructed.

"Right there looks pretty good," Heather pointed to an area with tall trees.

The seven then guided their dragons into the spot they chose. As they all asked their dragons to wait for them, Toothless was hesitant about staying without Hiccup.

"Don't worry bud, we'll be here for as short as we can, and head right back to this spot when we're done. Just wait here for us." Hiccup rubbed his best friend's head, finally convincing him to stay.

As the seven riders made their way out of the trees, they took the details of the new island into view. The flat landscape was littered with houses, work stations, wells, and a couple of small forges. The island seemed to be the core of all the different types of metals in the archipelago. Men and women shuffled around the island, carrying all kinds of different materials between the work stations. Every inhabitant on the island looked immensely occupied with their work.

"Hiccup, do you mind if I split from the group to ask about my father? I have no doubts you guys wouldn't be able to find the gears without me."

"Won't be a problem. But it's safest not to go around alone," Hiccup responded.

Snotlout slid over to Heather, smiling smugly. "Hiccup's right, Heather. So I'll volunteer myself to accompany you. Safety in numbers, you know."

As Snotlout was talking to her, he left himself completely unprepared for Astrid, who hurled him over her shoulder. "Hmm, I think Heather would much prefer to travel with someone she actually likes. Sorry, Snotlout."

"Fine! Your loss then!" Snotlout stood and brushed himself off.

"If you two are heading off, I'm going with you! Any reason to get away from him!" Ruffnut hollered, pointing at her brother.

"I can hear everything you're saying!" He yelled back.

"Good! I wanted you too!"

"Fine Ruffnut, you can tag along with us. Anything to get you two to stop arguing," Astrid offered.

The three girls left the group of guys, Ruffnut sticking her tongue out at Tuffnut as they left.

"Can you believe her? I have to be related to that thing!"

"Just relax now, Tuffnut. You don't have to see her for a while now, and we need to focus on finding those gears," Fishlegs said.

The group of four guys went in the opposite direction of the girls, to begin their search. They found all kinds of gears at the stations, but none of them were exactly what Hiccup had needed, with his dragon eye being such a unique design. Snotlout did nothing to even act like he wasn't bored, yet Fishlegs was excited about all the crafting techniques he was seeing, taking notes and making diagrams of his learning. After some time had passed of stopping by around half of the stations in sight, the four guys heard the unmistakable roars of dragons. However, the roars sounded panicked.

"Well that can't be good," Tuffnut commented.

"No, it's not. Come on guys, we'll worry about the gears later, after we find out why there's dragons in trouble!" Hiccup broke into a sprint, having his uncontrollable need to protect dragons get the best of him. Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Tuffnut ran after him, making sure not to get left behind.

"This is way better than looking for dumb gears!" Snotlout cheered.

Running around a corner of the village, Hiccup came to sight with a Nadder, Zippleback, and Timberjack that had all been chained down. A small group of villagers were sharpening their weapons, readying to finish off the captured dragons.

"Come on, there's still time!' Hiccup shouted, running even faster towards the scene. The four guys quickly arrived, and the three dragons perked up at their sudden appearance. "Stop what you're doing!"

"What are you talking about? And who even are you?" One of them asked.

"We're visiting from our own village, where we live in harmony with dragons! You don't need to kill them!" Hiccup said in a panic.

The villagers looked at each other, then started laughing uncontrollably. "Vikings living with dragons?!"

"You might think it's funny, but tell me, what did these dragons ever do to you? What gives you the right to kill them?" Hiccup challenged.

"Nothing I guess, except show up uninvited. But who cares if we kill them? We've killed hundreds before, even went after them ourselves before, just because we felt like it!" The group chuckled.

This angered all four of the guys. Although they had once wanted to kill dragons, that was in self-defense only. This village did it just for the fun of it, much like the Dragon Flyers they were in a war with.

"Now get away from those dragons, boy, unless you want to get soaked in their remains." A man walked over to the Zippleback, raising his axe over its left head.

"No!" Tuffnut rammed the man as hard as he could with his helmeted head, knocking him away from the dragon. He then drew his new spear, and the other guys all drew their weapons.

"You guys take care of them, I'll free the dragons!" Hiccup said, his sword going ablaze.

"Get reinforcements! We need extra hands to handle these miscreants!" One of the men screamed as Snotlout came at him with his axe.

As Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Tuffnut fought the few villagers back, Hiccup swiftly burned and sliced through the shackles of the three dragons. Knowing they were in danger, the three quickly rose into the sky, wasting no time in escaping.

"They're free! Let's go!" Hiccup yelled to the group. However, to his dismay, several armored members of the village had arrived at the scene, angry at the four guys for letting their captured dragons free to come back to their village another day. Before they could react, arrows had been pointed at all four of the guys, and their opponents they were fighting had already slipped away.

"Don't move a muscle. You four are sentenced to a punishment determined by our island's leader for aiding in endangering this village. Drop your weapons, put your hands on your heads, and line up," A fully helmeted man commanded to them. Fearing for their lives, the guys all did as told. As they lined up, multiple members of the village surrounded them with spears, preventing any chance of running away. They were then lightly poked in the backs with the spears, forcing them to start marching to the village dungeon.

Snotlout grumbled behind Hiccup as they were marched. "Way to go, Hiccup. Three dragons' lives free for four of ours taken. Not even a balanced trade."

* * *

Across the island, Heather's group was having about as much luck finding what they were looking for as Hiccup's group had.

"Sorry hun, haven't heard anything about an Oswald the Agreeable."

Heather sighed, making sure to thank the woman for her time regardless. She had made absolutely no advances on finding her father on the island, and had really been hoping that at least one person on the island could have given some kind of lead for her. Astrid put a supportive hand on her shoulder, letting her know that even if she still was without her father, she would have her friends with her no matter what. Both girls were soon interrupted by hearing Ruffnut actively 'negotiating' with a man not far away.

"Come on, guy! You should totally give me that axe for this spear."

"It looks like you got that from trading away junk!" The man responded to her.

"You have no way of proving that that may or may not be true!"

"I'm not trading with you. Now beat it!"

"Let's go, Ruffnut," Astrid started pulling her away.

"I just needed a few more minutes, and that axe would have been mine!" She argued.

"Let's not try to make the island hate us, please," Heather added.

As Ruffnut continued to complain to Heather about not wanting her spear, Astrid's ear perked up to a small group of men chatting just a few feet away.

"I kid you not, four foreign young vikings freed the captured dragons, and were attacking some of our own villagers! Fortunately, they didn't get away with their crimes. They were brought to the dungeon, stupidly not thinking their escape plan through," one of the men spoke.

Astrid had a wave of worry overcome her. The guys had been imprisoned? It surely seemed like these men were talking about Hiccup and the other guys, and she had to know for sure.

"Oh hey, you guys heard about that too?" She asked, walking straight into the conversation.

"Well yeah, almost everyone has," one of them responded to her. "It's not every day vikings come in and willingly save dragons from an execution. Come to think of it, that never happens."

"Yeah, that does sound pretty crazy. What were these guys like anyway?" she asked them, becoming more uneasy as she figured she knew already.

"I saw them, and they looked mostly normal," another person spoke. "A stocky one, a stout one, one with long blonde hair, and oh, a really scrawny one that only had one leg and a flaming sword! He must get in a lot of trouble, seeing as he only has one leg at such a young age."

Astrid's heart began racing as she realized it was without a doubt Hiccup and the other guys that had been detained. "So they were taken to a prison? What do you guys think will happen to them?"

"They'll be executed for sure. That's common sense lass, everybody knows that endangering this village is a top offense. I can even see their execution being extraordinarily cruel, just depending on what our leader thinks."

"Oh, cool! Yeah, they definitely deserve to die!" Astrid shouted, trying her best to hide the panicked look on her face. "Well, nice chatting with you guys! You take care now!"

Astrid immediately left the group, rushing over to Heather and Ruffnut, still locked in a conversation. Grabbing both their wrists, she quickly dragged them beside one of the buildings.

"Hey! Why so grabby?" Ruffnut protested.

"The guys are in trouble," Astrid whispered. "They got themselves imprisoned by freeing captured dragons, and now they're going to be executed if we don't hurry and free them!"

"What? How do you know this?" Heather questioned, becoming as worried as Astrid.

"I overheard it from the group I was talking to. Their descriptions were exactly the guys'. We need to find the prison they're being held in, and fast. Are you girls ready for a rescue mission?" Astrid said with a determined look.

"Ugh, if we have to," Ruffnut groaned. "Tuffnut's going to owe me big time for saving his life!"

"Let's move," Astrid told them. "Any second they lose is a second closer to a possible execution."

* * *

At the Ironside Island prison, the guys were being escorted to their cell, by an authoritative woman named Kretchil. Kretchil was the second in command of the island, a middle aged woman who served as a supportive figure for the island's leader. She wore simple metal armor, and a leather headpiece.

"Get in the cell, scum! You're to wait here until our leader arrives and ultimately decides on your fate," Kretchil instructed angrily.

The guys were coerced into the cell, the door slamming as they entered, and being quickly locked shut. The armored villagers that had brought them in had then moved to the front of the prison, weapons ready just in case the guys somehow escaped their cell.

"Hiccup, what do we do? They're surely going to want to kill us for what we did," Fishlegs whimpered.

"I'm way too young to die!" Tuffnut exclaimed. "Oh wait, no I'm not. Most Thorstons don't ever make it past eighteen."

"Well most Jorgensons do! And thanks to Hiccup, the great legacy of my life has to come to a much abrupt end! All just for three dragons!" Snotlout glared at him.

Not saying anything and having a bitter expression, Hiccup just walked to the corner of the cell and sat down. He knew Snotlout was right. They were all captured because he had been the one to rush them into the dragon execution, without thinking of any consequences it could bring. And with the girls on the other side of the island, and their dragons not knowing anything that was going on due to needing to hide, Hiccup realized there wouldn't be anybody to come to their aid this time.

"Our leader has arrived!" one of the guards announced, and got all of the guys' attention.

The leader of Ironside Island then entered the room, and the guys were shocked by what they saw. The leader was a twenty-four year old woman, basically only a few years older than them. She had chocolate brown hair in two medium length braids, honey brown eyes, and tanned skin. She was wearing a beige tunic with the sleeved rolled up to her elbows, black pants, and gray boots. She noticeably wore a burgundy smithing apron, and they figured out that she was a blacksmith. It was also evident due to her decently muscled frame, her not being scrawny at all from having worked in forges a long amount. As she entered, she eyed Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Tuffnut who were standing close to the cell bars. "Really? These are the vikings that attacked our villagers and managed to free captured dragons?"

"This is them, we brought them straight here after their actions," Kretchil confirmed.

The woman that led Ironside Island took in that the young men in the cell were indeed delinquents on her island. "I am Zaia Siritsin, the leader of Ironside Island. I'm a fair and understanding leader. However, I do not tolerate anyone intentionally attacking this island. For the actions you have done, you will all be met with execution. It's as simple as that."

The four guys all gasped, for their worst fear had been vocalized.

"Hiccup, do something to change her mind! You're good at changing minds!" Snotlout yanked him up off he ground, and shoved him towards the bars.

Before Hiccup could even try to speak to Zaia, he saw that she had an utterly shocked and excited expression on her face.

"It's...it's...him! It's him!" she unexpectedly blurted out.

Kretchil stared in confusion at her reaction to Hiccup, as did many guards. "What do you mean, 'it's him'?"

"He's the one that Frigg foretold to me about! Look at his leg! She prophesied I would meet a young man with a metal leg! And that the young man would be a master inventor!" Zaia exclaimed, practically shaking in excitement.

"Well, I wouldn't call him a master inventor," Tuffnut interrupted.

"Oh! This sword my soldiers took from your group, you made it yourself? What can it do? Frigg foretold to me your weapons would be beyond imaginable!" Zaia continued, as she held up Inferno.

"Uh, yes," Hiccup spoke up, "I did design the Dragon Blade. And since you asked, push that button on the side of the sword. It might surprise you, but I promise it's safe."

Acting before Kretchil could advise her otherwise not to, Zaia pressed on Inferno, and the sword ignited itself in flames. "Amazing! This sword can ignite on command! Everyone, this is the young man I have been waiting for!" Laughing in happiness, Zaia figured out how to extinguish Inferno's flame, and handed the sword to a guard. "Guards, let this young man out of the cell. And only him, not his friends!"

"Zaia, I must remind you he is a criminal. What he did cannot go unpunished! We do have rules of execution for those that endanger our island, remember?" Kretchil urged her leader.

"I am aware of the rules. And I do not care, for he is here for a greater purpose than execution. Now as I said, let him out of the cell."

"At least take his metal leg from him! Do not think he won't hesitate to escape if you do not!"

"Fine," Zaia rolled her eyes, "take his leg from him, and then let him out. Allow him to sit in a chair."

At her words, Hiccup had no choice but to comply with the guards approaching him. He knew there was no way he could handle armed guards, and that he would only make his case worse if he tried to resist. Two of the guards held him in the air by his arms, while a third removed his metal leg. The leg was given to Kretchil, who eagerly awaited taking it. Hiccup was brought out of the cell, as other guards pointed their bows and other weapons at the other guys, in case they attempted to flee. Hiccup was then brought onto a chair, and placed into it. Immediately after, Zaia took a seat directly in front of him on another chair.

"Young man, what is your name? And where are you from?"

Hiccup began to wonder if he should lie about his identity. He ultimately decided it wouldn't make a difference no matter what he said about himself, so he figured the truth would be his best way to start. "I'm Hiccup Haddock the Third. My friends and I came from an island we named Dragon's Edge. And I would like to know what this 'greater purpose' you mentioned about me might be."

Zaia let a small smile form on her face upon getting her chance to tell him her news. "Hiccup Haddock the Third, you indeed have a greater purpose for coming to my island. One that Frigg has enlightened me of herself. The goddess has informed me that you and I are to marry."


	2. Part 2

"The goddess has informed me that you and I are to marry."

The words struck Hiccup like an arrow. Was he hearing this correctly? A goddess had prophesied that he was to marry this person? He just couldn't believe it to be true. He was betrothed to Astrid, the person he loved immensely, and constantly looked forward to marrying when the proper time came. And now out of nowhere, this woman says they're supposed to marry!

"Uhhhh, ohhh, Frigg really said that?" he mustered out.

Zaia nodded. "Well, she didn't refer to you by name exactly. But I just know she was describing you. And you're finally here!"

"Zaia, think for a minute! Would Frigg really prohesize you to marry someone who attacked our island?" Kretchil urged.

"Enough, Kretchil! Were you the one Frigg reached to? No. I am certain he is the one." Zaia turned her attention back to him. "Now then, I will not force you to marry me. A forced love is never a true love. However, I am afraid if you do not agree to marry me, you will join your friends in execution, this nightfall. This will be your last day to live if you do not spend the rest of your days as my husband. I am offering a chance to save your life from a mistake you made. And I would be delighted if you accept my proposal."

Hiccup took a large swallow at what was presented to him. He absolutely did not want to choose death. But Zaia wasn't who he wanted to marry, Astrid was! He had no eyes for her, only Astrid. She was the only one he ever did for at all. Then he began to realize something. If he agreed to marry Zaia, he could buy more time for Astrid, Heather, and Ruffnut to enact a rescue. There was no way they would leave the island without the guys, and possibly could have been already looking for them right now. He would have to play along in a desperate attempt to make sure they could be rescued by the girls.

"If I agree to marry you, will you let my three friends live as well?" he asked.

Zaia frowned at him. "I am afraid I cannot do that. I am willing to pardon you, but these three serve no purpose. I confess that by marrying you, I am hoping to end your ways of troublemaking. I believe you have potential. These three have no other reason to be here like you do, and tonight they must perish."

Hiccup had to think of something to buy time for his friends! He wouldn't ever forgive himself for being the one that brought upon their untimely deaths. He then thought of another idea to bring delays.

"Okay. I understand, it's the rules of your island, and I accept them." He cleared his throat. "Zaia Siritsin, I, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, accept your proposal to marry you."

"Excellent!" Zaia beamed. "I can promise you, I will ensure it will be a happy marriage! I have been waiting years for your arrival, and I will make sure it will have been a marriage worth waiting for.

"I'm glad to hear that!" Hiccup put on a fake smile. He'd have to do his absolute best skill with his weak acting abilities to be able to make his plans work. "May I ask just one thing regarding the wedding? Please let my friends attend it. We've spent our whole lives together. Let them at least see what will be the happiest day of my life, before you have to have them executed."

Zaia put her hand to her chin. "Hmm, well their execution is sentenced for tonight already. I have no desire to change that." Then she smiled largely. "However, we could marry tonight! That way your friends would be able to attend. I agree that it would be nice to see a momentous occasion just before death."

Overhearing them, Snotlout signaled to Fishlegs and Tuffnut. "What is Hiccup doing?" he whispered. "He's seriously going to marry her? He's betrothed to Astrid!"

"He's buying us time!" Fishlegs whispered back. "He's making sure these people don't kill us before Heather, Astrid, and Ruffnut get us out of here!"

"You mean if they get us out of here! Look at those guards! They won't hesitate to kill the girls if they try to save us! We'd all be dead, and Hiccup will be the only one alive as the co-ruler of this nightmare of an island!" Snotlout complained, shaking his hands.

"You three!" Zaia called out, bringing their attention to her. "You are all graciously invited to Hiccup and I's wedding. You will attend as prisoners, and then be escorted to your execution after the wedding. I will send for my soldiers to bring you there when it is time tonight."

The three guys all nodded, all desperately hoping that they would manage to see the following day.

Zaia then walked over back to Hiccup. "Come on, my soon to be husband, I want to show you my personal forge while we pass the time together before our wedding!" To Hiccup's surprise, she then scooped him out of the chair, carrying him in her arms. It felt weird for him, being held by a woman he had just met. She acted like they were already a close couple, and it unnerved him. Humming joyously, Zaia then walked off with Hiccup, while the other guys looked on with concern.

* * *

"Why are we heading for the dragons? We know the guys aren't with them!" Ruffnut hollered, chasing after Astrid and Heather in a high speed sprint.

"We need as many things as we can get for a rescue to work. There's no way this island will make it easy!" Astrid yelled back. Shortly after, the three girls made it to their dragons. They all perked up seeing some, but not all of their riders. Toothless bounded over to Astrid, confused as to why Hiccup wasn't there. "Don't worry, boy. We're going to get him back. Nobody's keeping Hiccup prisoner if I can help it." She rubbed his head, and went over to Stormfly. Removing her satchel from the dragon, she put it on, as did Heather and Ruffnut with theirs. They told their dragons to wait there for them, and that they'd be back later. "Let's get to that prison! I already have an idea of what to do."

After a bit of searching, the girls finally found where the guys were being held.

"Oh look, six guards, just waiting to kill us if we try to get in there! Now what?" Ruffnut complained.

"Ruff, please keep your talking to a minimum. If I know Astrid, she knows how we're getting in there."

"Thank you, Heather. Follow me over there to the side wall of the prison."

The three made it to the side wall, and Astrid began to pull out spines from Stormfly's tail that were in her satchel. She forcefully thrust one into the wall, and it went into the construction material, fairly deep. "Yes!" she blurted out.

"Now this is something you really have to be smart to think of," Heather observed.

Astrid handed spines to Heather and Ruffnut, and the three girls began to climb up the wall, digging into it with the spikes as they climbed. Their weapons were strapped to their backs, them knowing very well they would need them. After some climbing, they had made it to the top of the prison. They walked to where the entrance was, and saw the six guards below them.

"We're going to jump on them. Try to land on two of them each. We'll knock them out from the force of our impact, or at least get a very good surprise attack," Astrid instructed.

The three all nodded, and jumped off the top of the prison. completely unprepared for an aerial assault, the soldiers guarding the entrance were all knocked to the ground from the girls landing on them. Their heads all collided with the ground, knocking them completely unconscious. Once they were sure they wouldn't be getting up for a long time, the three then sprinted into the prison drawing their weapons. Not long after running, the girls saw the cell the guys were being kept in. And three guards still in the room!

"Holy Thor! The girls actually made it in here to save us!" Snotlout exclaimed.

"The guards have crossbows! Look out!" Fishlegs shrieked at them.

The guards began to start shooting at the girls, but they all quickly dodged the projectiles. They were fully prepared for a fight. Dodging every projectile that had been fired at them, the soldiers then drew their weapons for close combat.

"I can't watch!" Fishlegs hid behind his hands, fearing for the girls' lives.

"I can! I love violence!" Tuffnut hollered with a grin, gripping the bars in excitement.

Heather led the three towards the guards, letting out a Berserker battle cry. Everyone had their weapons ready, and they all rushed at each other.

* * *

"And this is my forge!" Zaia exclaimed. As she entered, she let Hiccup down on a chair in the room.

Hiccup was undeniably impressed, this woman was a master blacksmith for sure. She probably knew how to do things Gobber wasn't even aware were possible. The room was nicely organized, and all the equipment was in excellent condition. Zaia's grindstone was the best looking one Hiccup had ever seen. And decorative weapons were all around the room.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked proudly.

"It's remarkable, I've never seen a forge like this back home. It'd be hard to say our forges come close to as impressive as yours."

"You're far too kind! You haven't even seen everything yet! Oh, I'll show you my favorite original creation!" Zaia tossed Hiccup a shield. "Press onto it!"

Hiccup did as she suggested, and let out a scream. Around the circumference of the shield, saw-like blades popped out. If he had been holding the shield closer to his chest, we would have gotten impaled by it. Zaia laughed at his shock, and took the shield back from him.

"Despite the fact that it almost impaled me, that's awesome how you implemented hydraulics in that shield!" Hiccup said sincerely. "Back home, I have a really unique shield myself. It can actually turn into a crossbow, and shoot out bolas!"

"That sounds amazing! Sometime after the wedding, we should sail to your island and you could show it to me! Not to mention, I'm sure your parents back home will be happy to hear their son is married!"

"Well, parent. I've only had one since I was a baby because-" Hiccup was then cut off by a completely unexpected moan from a dragon.

To Hiccup's surprise, there was a huge cage in the corner of the forge, made of the dragon hunters' metal. He hadn't noticed it before, since it was poorly lit compared to the rest of the forge. And inside the cage was a lavender Armorwing!

"Quiet down, dragon!" Zaia commanded to it.

Hiccup saw the dragon timidly lay back down on the ground, looking at him with sad eyes. "You have an Armorwing? I've only seen one before! I had wondered if he was the last of his kind, but I guess I was wrong!"

"Armorwing? Are you talking about that dragon? Pay no attention to it. I keep it here to weld metal together. It makes a mighty fine tool of a beast, wouldn't you say?"

"No, I wouldn't say that. Dragons aren't tools, they like to help us! Where I came from, we live in peace with dragons! We see each other as equals!"

Zaia began to laugh out loud, similarly to the villagers had done before her. "Dear gods, you are funny! Next you'll say yaks can fly!"

"I'm being serious! My best friend is a dragon! He's even on the island right now, hiding to avoid attraction. If you could get my leg back and I show you where he is, I could show you that dragons can live in harmony with vikings!" he offered.

Zaia gave a frown, and put her hand on his forehead. "You don't seem to be overheated, but the heat from the forge might be getting to you regardless. You're spouting nonsense!" she then gave a soft smile. "I think we should start getting everything together for the wedding. It won't be much longer until the evening comes. Oh, I'm so excited to marry you! We'll build such amazing things together, and be the best smithing teachers ever!" Zaia scooped Hiccup back up again, and carried him out of the forge, excited to prepare for the evening.

* * *

SCCREEECH! Weapons were clashing against each other with horrible sounds. Astrid and Heather were using a mixture of attack and defense with their axes to fight the guards, while also protecting each other's backs. Ruffnut realized it was now or never to start using her spear, and with no other choice, she started to use it for long range attacking. She began to start thrusting it at the soldiers, but they easily batted it away with their own weapons.

"Useless junk of a weapon!" Ruffnut screamed, not satisfied with it at all.

Seeing an opening near one of the soldiers' sides, Heather somersaulted forward, and swung her axe into their side. Their armor prevented them from being cut, but the force of Heather's swing was enough to knock them to the ground momentarily. Astrid aggressively swung her axe at the soldier she was facing, and just barely dodged a sword swipe that would have cut her head clean off, by ducking in the nick of time. The soldiers weren't holding back at all, and unfortunately for the girls, they were way less armored than they were.

Keeping their efforts up, Heather was able to throw a punch in the mouth to one of the soldiers whose helmet didn't cover their entire face. The soldier fell backwards, but Heather was completely unprepared for a forceful kick from the soldier that had been facing Ruffnut. Struck directly in the chest, Heather was blown backwards, slamming into the wall, and falling to the ground.

"Heather!" Fishlegs screamed in terror.

"Astrid, guard Heather!" Ruffnut shouted. "You punks think you can kick my friend and get away with it? This Nut is about to go nuts!" Ruffnut forcefully slammed her spear tip into the ground as two of the soldiers advanced towards her. Bending back on the shaft, she let it go just as a soldier was about to strike her, causing them to get forcefully smacked in their face. They stumbled backwards, falling. The other one advancing was about to strike too, but Ruffnut grabbed onto the grounded spear with both hands, and delivered a powerful spin kick to their stomach.

As Ruffnut was proving her worth against two of the soldiers, Astrid parried a soldier's axe with her own in one hand, while she helped Heather get back to her feet. Once Heather was back up, she and Astrid both struck the soldier, and their opponent wasn't able to block both girls' attack at the same time. Ruffnut had just been knocked painfully to the ground by one of the two soldiers she was facing. Upset by seeing her friend attacked, Astrid swung her axe at the unsuspecting's soldier's face, the side of the axe knocking them against the prison bars, and causing them to be rendered defeated.

"Cool!" Tuffnut shouted, looking at awe at the soldier slumped against the bars. "You made them loose some teeth!"

All ignoring him, the three then had just two left. Heather hurled her axe at one of their heads, causing them to duck to avoid the hit. Fortunately for Heather, she was prepared for the duck, and sent a forceful kick into their face. Flying backwards, the soldier also became defeated when hitting the ground. Finally down to one, Astrid was clashing weapons with them, while Ruffnut had run out of the room. She began charging back in, wanting to perform a running attack. As she was sprinting, she thrust her spear into the ground once again. Pole-vaulting with her momentum, she flew at the last soldier, hands extended. Astrid jumped out of the way, And Ruffnut shoved the soldier dynamically into the wall. Upon impact, the third soldier had been defeated, and there were no more conscious soldiers in the room.

"You all did it! I knew you would!" Fishlegs cheered.

The girls wasted no time retrieving the keys from one of the soldiers, and unlocked the guys' cell. As soon as they got out, Fishlegs pulled Heather into a tight hug, and Tuffnut threw his arms around his sister lovingly. Snotlout was about to try to hug Astrid, but she pointed her axe at him with a tempting face. He opted to hug himself in celebration instead.

"You and that spear, sis! That was incredible!" Tuffnut shouted.

"Well, I guess I can get used to this thing. It holds me up pretty good!" Ruffnut pointed out. "Maybe you were trying to do something nice for me after all. Sorry for fighting with you, bro."

"I'm sorry too! I realized while I was trapped here that I wouldn't want you selling anything at all of mine either."

"Uh, where's Hiccup? Why isn't he here? You were all imprisoned, weren't you?" Astrid said with worry in her voice.

Snotlout laughed, looking forward to what he was going to say. "He's off to get married! The wedding's tonight!"

Astrid charged at him, gripping his shirt with extreme force. "WHAT?!"

"Astrid! He agreed to marry the leader of the island, but only so she wouldn't have him executed! He's trying to keep himself alive so he can be rescued!" Fishlegs quickly explained.

"I'd like to execute this leader, who thinks she can steal my betrothed from me!" Astrid roared, not happy with what she was doing to Hiccup.

"Heh, I always knew you were the jealous type," Snotlout stupidly commented while Astrid still held onto him. In her frustration, she hurled him across the room, Snotlout screaming as he flew.

"We're getting him out of that wedding! Let's find where it's being held!" Astrid commanded.

"We'd better get the dragons first. I have a good feeling it won't be easy rescuing him. All of this leader's friends are probably going to be at the wedding, he'll be surrounded." Heather pointed out.

"To the dragons, then! I'm ready to scare off some stupid villagers!" Ruffnut shouted, and the group of six ran out of the prison.

* * *

Hiccup was extremely nervous. It felt like everybody in the audience's eyes were on him as he stood on a stage with Zaia. He had been gifted his metal leg back, returned to him with displeasure from Kretchil. Unfortunately, it seemed that today was the day he would get married, and not to the person he truly loved. A wave of sadness overtook him, realizing that a marriage could only be broken in Valhalla. And it was almost time to say the vows. However, Hiccup wondered why he didn't see Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Tuffnut in the audience. Weren't the guards supposed to bring them there? Maybe Kretchil had instructed the guards not to, being the iniquitous person she seemed to be.

Pulling him out of his thoughts, Zaia then called the gathering to attention. "Everyone, I have gathered you here this evening to celebrate my marriage to Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, from the Isle of Berk! May we...what in Frigg's name?!"

A huge grin formed on Hiccup's face. He saw his six friends and their five dragons, dropping out of the sky! Toothless was also in the air, being flown by Ruffnut, while Tuffnut flew Barf and Belch alone. They were here to save him from the wedding!

"Dragon attack!" one of the villagers screamed out.

"Everyone, get indoors!" Kretchil screamed, as the dragon riders began to open fire to scare away the crowd.

Spotting Hiccup next to Zaia, Astrid instructed Stormfly to dive to them. "Get the hell away from my betrothed, you veslingr!"

Zaia looked at Astrid atop her dragon, then to Hiccup. Then her expression changed from surprised, to hurt, to completely betrayed. "Your betrothed?!" she screamed at him. "You're about to marry me, and you're already betrothed?!"

"Astrid!" Hiccup called out, holding his hand up for her to grab him.

"Oh no, you don't!" Zaia screamed, grabbing him forcefully by his shirt. "You're not getting away from me! Somebody, shoot down that girl's dragon!"

Several dragon root arrows that the hunters had sold and traded to the villagers began to shoot up at Stormfly, from Astrid flying her dangerously low. Stormfly and Astrid tried to dodge all of them, but one managed to strike Stormfly. The two began to spin uncontrollably to the ground. While this was happening, Zaia had hefted Hiccup over her shoulder, and moved him to the back of the stage.

"Let go of me!" Hiccup shouted at her.

"Oh sure, here you go!" Zaia mocked him. She unexpectedly hurled him through the air, and he crashed painfully onto something on the ground nearby. Upon landing on it, it activated, and a net sprung around him, yanking him off the ground and into the air. "You wait here in this dragon trap I had placed. I knew it would come in handy! I'll be back to sentence your execution after I kill your little fiance! You toy with my emotions, you face the consequences!"

Hiccup winced as the pain in his back overtook him, and he couldn't even get words out to negotiate with Zaia. He laid in the net, looking in anguish as Zaia picked up her war-hammer she preemptively laid near the stage, and began to advance towards Astrid. Astrid had just instructed Fishlegs to get Stormfly to safety, due to Meatlug being immune to dragon root arrows, allowing her to come in close. After scaring the villagers away with lava, Meatlug flew Stormfly off. Astrid then noticed Hiccup had been trapped in a net, hanging from a tall wooden structure! She began to run towards him, but Zaia suddenly stood her ground before her. "Hoping to rescue someone?"

As this was happening, Toothless kept trying to get to Hiccup to help, but Ruffnut pulled back on him. "No Toothless! If you go down there, they'll shoot you down! We need to keep running off the villagers up here! Astrid will save him from her, don't worry!"

Toothless reluctantly resumed shooting plasma blasts from the sky, striking the ground near the villagers. They were slowly but surely running everyone off from the site, and soon Zaia would be the only person from the island left on the scene. Zaia and Astrid stared each other in the eyes, standing in combative poses on the stage. Raising her axe high in the air, Astrid let out a war cry, and both young women rushed at each other.

The axe and hammer collided so forcefully, they were both blown back in recoil. Zaia looked up with a grimace, shocked that someone far less muscular than she was had managed to cause her to slide backward. Astrid wasn't shocked at all at seeing Zaia slide back, knowing she well knew how to use her strength in combat.

"So, maybe this will be some fun, then!" Zaia said with a devious grin.

"Oh yes, beating you down will be fun, indeed!" Astrid shouted. Utilizing the effect of her taunt, Astrid was fully prepared for an offended hammer swing from Zaia. She held up her axe in the perfect position to block the attack. Due to the hammer's thickness, and Zaia's strength, Astrid's arms screamed out from the pressure being applied unto them. However, she managed to remain able to keep her axe against the hammer. Unsatisfied, Zaia then swiftly kicked Astrid's legs out from under her. Astrid fell onto her back, but recovered fast enough for an attack of her own. She clamped her legs around Zaia's and twisted her body on the ground, causing Zaia to fall to the ground too. Astrid quickly leaped to her feet, and attempted to swing her axe in a downward arc at Zaia while she was still on the ground. Zaia rolled away from the axe, and Astrid's axe became stuck in the wood of the stage! She tried to pull it out as fast as she could, however it wasn't fast enough. As she was still trying to pull it out, Zaia struck her with intense force in the stomach with her war-hammer. Astrid was launched through the air, landing off the stage on her bottom.

"ASTRID!" Hiccup screamed out, seeing the love of his life getting painfully struck by a hammer.

Astrid groaned, trying all she could to get back up on her feet. It felt like she had been rammed by a Rumblehorn. Nothing seemed like it was broken in her torso, but she couldn't have been sure. She looked up and saw Hiccup terrified as he was swinging uncontrollably in the suspended net. Suddenly, she found herself completely able to ignore the pain. Seeing him in trouble gave her all the strength she needed to continue the fight. She jumped back onto the stage, revitalized again. "It'll take a lot more than that to stop me!"

Zaia tried to swing at her in a downward arc of her own, but Astrid sidestepped, and threw a punch at the side of her face. It felt so good to her, being able to punch someone who tried to keep the love of her live for herself. Temporarily stunned, Zaia rubbed her cheek to soothe the pain. Astrid had cartwheeled back to her axe, yanking it out of the wood as she finished her cartwheel. Giving an extremely angry glare, she rushed at Zaia with her axe. Rather than try to attack her directly, Astrid opted to try to remove her war-hammer from her. She could tell Zaia was someone used to using and fighting weapons. But thinking about how she was able to land a punch with her own fist, Astrid realized her best chance to defeat her would be with weapons out of the picture. Once again, the two fighters' weapons collided, but Astrid began to start shoving both of the weapons away from them. Completely unprepared for Astrid being willing to get rid of her axe, Zaia was also unprepared for Astrid's attempt to shove away her hammer that was stuck against it. Finally successful, Astrid managed to propel both the weapons away from the two.

"Do you really think ridding me of my hammer will help you defeat me?" Zaia questioned. Astrid didn't waste any time trying to find out. She threw a punch at Zaia, and once more connected with her face. Zaia began to throw punches back, but not as accurately as Astrid did. Astrid was simply more used to hand to hand combat than the blacksmith leader was. Zaia managed to land a punch on Astrid's chin, but it wasn't concentrated enough to even stun her. As they both tried to throw punches, they suddenly locked hands together. Zaia then tried to start breaking Astrid's spirit, while they were struggling against each other.

"What does Hiccup even see in you? You're just a reckless brute! You'd never be able to forge anything to impress him like I have!" Zaia spat.

"He sees in me more than he would ever see in you! Someone who loves dragons as much as he does! You have no sense of morality, you're just another one of the unjust dragon hunters!" Astrid growled back at her.

"Enough with this dragon worshiping! I'll give my inventions to dragon hunters for free! Just to get rid of those wretched beasts!"

Astrid had had enough. This woman tried to marry her betrothed, instructed others to injure Stormfly, and now said she would give away inventions just for the sake of killing dragons. It was time to end her.

"RAHHHHH!" Astrid hollered, and began to spin, as she and Zaia still locked hands. Reaching an intense speed, Astrid let go of the leader of Ironside Island, causing her to slam onto several of the benches in the audience. Zaia sailed through benches, breaking them apart against her back. The pain of so much wood crashing against her finally caused her to black out. Astrid had won.

Taking deep breaths, Astrid shook off her exhaustion, and ran to where Hiccup was hanging. She saw that the trap had a release mechanism, and activated it. Hiccup began to get lowered down to her, smiling proudly at his girlfriend.

"Gods, how did I end up with the best fighter in the Archipelago?" he complimented her.

"Oh, hush you. I can't be the best in the entire archipelago. But if you're in trouble, I can promise you I will try to be, for you." she smiled at him.

Hiccup was still trapped in the net, and Astrid began to cut him out with her retrieved axe. The second she had opened a decent hole in the net, Hiccup grabbed her shoulders and pressed his lips onto hers. Astrid happily reciprocated the passionate kiss, happy that their previous one before this hadn't been the last. She was so worried about if it would have been when she was searching for him. After some seconds, they pulled apart.

"You couldn't wait for me to get you completely out of there?" she laughed.

"I wanted you to be the only person I would kiss on this wedding site today." he said sheepishly.

"Well, you did a good job of that." she returned to cutting him out of the net, and helped him to the ground. Both put an arm around each other, watching as their friends ran the rest of the villagers into buildings. Without trained dragons of their own, they stood no chance against the Riders.

"So what do we do with her? We need to make sure she never forgets not to mess with us again," Astrid asked Hiccup, pointing her axe at the unconscious Zaia.

"There's some unfinished business with her that we need to take care of," Hiccup answered, "business that involves a magnificent forge, and a very doleful dragon."

* * *

Zaia's eyes began to slowly open. She felt like she had just taken on a whole pack of dragons. Something felt somewhat cold on her wrists, and tight on her chest. Slowly becoming more of her surroundings, she realized she was in her forge. She also realized she wasn't alone. In front of her, was the young woman she remembered that she had just battled, Hiccup, and her Armorwing?! And Hiccup was petting the dragon affectionately? Zaia was about to jump up and get them away from the Armorwing, but found herself unable too. She realized the cold feeling on her wrists were metal shackles, and that the tightness on her chest was several ropes, securing her to a chair!

"Hey! Get away from that dragon, and release me from this chair!" she screamed at the two.

Astrid rolled her eyes, and sauntered over to her. As she got closer, Zaia saw that she had been bandaged, and was holding a chunk of ice to her stomach. "And what are you going to do if we don't? You lost, Zaia. Our friends are blocking the entrance to your forge with their dragons, and nobody on this island is getting in here right now."

"I should have known. All of you are here to take over my island! You won't get away with it! Just because I'm subdued doesn't mean you'll succeed!"

"Zaia, please just calm down. Where's that easygoing person I knew as of today?" Hiccup spoke up.

"Oh? And where's the young man that wasn't lying to me through his teeth? Oh, wait, he was never here the entire time!"

Hiccup frowned at her bitter speech. "Look, we're not trying to take over your island. We didn't even want you to know we've trained dragons. We just came so I could buy specific gears I needed for a project. The plan was to get them and go. But as you saw, we're all friends to dragons. And when your villagers were about to execute some of them, I couldn't stop myself from intervening. Just because dragons aren't understood here, doesn't mean they have to die."

"What's there to not understand about them? They hate us, and we hate them. It's been that way for years!" Zaia protested.

Hiccup then signaled for Toothless to come over, who was also in the room. "This is my best friend, Toothless the Night Fury. Hate is the last thing we would feel for each other. This dragon is my brother, and I love him." Hiccup nuzzled against Toothless' head.

"See? Dragons do love vikings, as long as we treat them right. And I think your Armorwing there is long overdue for proper treatment," Astrid gestured.

"There is no way that dragon wants to bond with me."

"She does. You didn't ever attack her, right? Just made her work for you? And you didn't starve her or anything?" Hiccup asked.

"She? It's a girl? And well no, I wanted to keep it in good condition so it would produce quality welding fire," Zaia explained.

Hiccup grinned. "Then she'll have no problem forgiving you. You're all set to start your friendship with her."

"I'm going to free you, and when I do, we want you to mimic the hand motion Hiccup does with Toothless with your Armorwing. Got it?" Astrid said.

"Fine! Just let me out of this chair already! I hate being a prisoner in my own forge!"

Using her axe, Astrid sliced through the ropes holding Zaia to the chair. She then unlocked her manacles, and pulled them off of her wrists. Zaia stood up, and saw the Armorwing looking at her inquisitively. Zaia was in no rush to approach the dragon.

"Just like this, Zaia," Hiccup said, holding out his hand onto Toothless' snout, with his eyes closed.

Zaia took a deep breath. She realized she probably wouldn't be able to get out of this, with all the dragon riders in the area. And truthfully, she was becoming curious about if she actually could bond with a dragon. She was a fan of learning new things, and enjoyed satiating curiosities. Zaia slowly advanced forward, and the Armorwing lowered her head. Zaia extended her hand to where the dragon could see it, and finally rested it on its snout. The Armorwing let out a pleased exhale, and both her and Zaia closed their eyes. Both of them never saw this coming, and it felt absolutely right for them. When Zaia opened her eyes again, she saw Hiccup and Astrid holding hands, looking proudly at her. "There, I did it. Do I get a medal now, or what?"

Hiccup and Astrid both laughed. "No, you won't be getting a medal, but you did get something better. A new friend who will be the key to improving your island."

"Slow down there, Haddock. This will take some time. Clearly this dragon is showing affection to me, but that doesn't mean I'm going to change my island into a dragon haven."

"Will you at least consider?" Hiccup asked.

Zaia exhaled. "We'll see. There might be at least one change here or something. But now then, I want you and all your trouble making friends off my island! What will it take to get you dragon riding maniacs out of here?"

"I'm hoping I can get what we came here for. Some specific gears for this invention of mine. It uses lenses to project maps on where dragons are located, but I'm having trouble getting the lens to properly switch."

"Let me see it."

Hiccup handed Zaia his Dragon Eye, and she looked it over. "Yeah, I should have what you need in here. Give me a minute, and then you'll be getting out of here. And you better not return!"

Zaia searched her forge, and found exactly what Hiccup needed. She gave him his Dragon Eye back, and the gears. Unexpectedly, he slipped a rolled up paper into her hand as she gave him what he needed.

"And what is this?" she asked.

"A map to Dragon's Edge. In case you ever need us for anything. I hope we can have some form of allegiance, at least one day later. Oh, and it's much faster to get there by dragon, than by boat. Just saying."

"You make a risky move revealing where you reside. Maybe I'll sink your island! Or...maybe I won't. Just depends on how I feel later."

"Thanks for everything, Zaia. I'm sorry I'm not the person you thought I was. I'm sure you'll find him soon! After all, there's no way I'm the only inventive viking with a metal leg out there."

"Eh, maybe. You're one of a kind in my eyes," Astrid said to him.

"Enough! Both of you, just leave my island already!"

Hiccup and Astrid snickered at her frustration at their affection. Despite how the day had gone, they felt no resentment for Zaia. They understood her intentions, since they had been much like her fours years ago, before Hiccup changed life on Berk for the better. To Zaia's delight, they finally left her forge, and all the dragon riders took off to the sky, leaving the island. As she watched them disappear, she felt her Armorwing's head nudge against her back.

"What? You want to fly too?"

The dragon looked at her with bright eyes. Zaia sighed, and convinced herself to climb onto her back, to the dragon's delight. "Okay. Let's see what being a dragon rider is all about."


End file.
